davetheanalyzer

Had confusion over a dentist appointment earlier this month. The name of the group was similar to the orthodontist group I go to and I initially crossed it out on the family calendar, only for them to call and after some talking, I realized they were the dentist group I go to have 1 additional cleaning every year. I had to modify the crossed out calendar note that I actually do need to go there. After talking with Mom, I determined I should stop going there and have the additional cleaning at my usual dentist, where it’s a bit cheaper and to keep things consistent. I told them I won’t be appearing here and they took it well, though my paranoid mind thought the high price tag was a slap for announcing that lol.

I’ve finished draft 3 rewrite notes for a couple chapters of We Will Hold On Forever. Taking down the things I want to correct takes a while but actually implementing the corrections doesn’t take as long. I even began edits for posting the next chapter today, which mightn’t take too long, since it’s pretty short. It helps that I’m less distracted while writing and editing. I had to delay writing my original fiction more than a couple times this month, including today, and so I decided to push back returning to draft 3 of my mon-inspired original story. I want to linger on the wrestler story a while longer and yes I’m a bit more detailed about what these stories are about, since otherwise it’s difficult to specify which original story I’m talking about otherwise. I wonder if I should post it somewhere for others to review. I read that after completing the 3^rd draft, you could finally show your story to others for feedback.

I saw the film Monkey Man. It was in theaters and some people in discord really liked it and it got good reviews, so I went. Either I misspoke or I was misheard when talking with the ticket person because when the previews were over and the film started, I was confused when the first shots were of white priests and I realized I went to the wrong film (The First Omen, if you’re curious). I hastily ran to the actual Monkey Man showing roughly 10 minutes after it started. That kind of soured some of the viewing experience but I found other ways to view the minutes I missed thereafter. It was alright. It took a bit of a while for the movie to tell you the lead Kid’s motivations and what’s he’s trying to do, trickled to the viewer via flashbacks and Kid’s reactions to those he targets. The action was good and in the style of John Wick (Though John Wick’s name-drop as a fictional character kind of kills any thought about a crossover lol). The film’s topical with having antagonists representative of Modi and his cruel Hindu-supremacist government.

As far as I can tell Kid isn’t Muslim but he and his mother were victims of the villain Baba Shakti’s raising of their village to build torturous mega-factories. I also like that the hijira/trans women rescue Kid to keep him in hiding and after he gives the money to save their temple, come to his rescue. The ending’s ambiguous if Kid dies from wounds after killing Baba Shakti but I like to imagine that he somehow survives and escapes. This film can be violently bloody and I often winced at some of those moments. The caveats are Kid putting his hand in a dirty toilet, transphobia, attempted rape, classism, islamophobia, and that the hijira/trans women are portrayed by many cis actors. With that in mind, if this film sounds appealing, feel free to see it. Others likely have more nuanced thoughts on Monkey Man than I do.

That’s all for now. It’s frustrating the genocide in Gaza continues but it’s heartening to see all those protesting and acting to stop it. I’ll speak later at the end of May.